Chelsea London Lloyd of OR DIE TRYING chats with actress Sarah Murphree on how she came to Los Angeles, her recent success, as well as her her first experience going viral.
Name: Sarah Murphree
Field of Industry/Company/Job Title: I am a movie critic for MovieGuide, and I perform at kids' birthday parties as various Disney characters. However, my aspirations are to be a successful comedic actress, writer and host.
Favorite Film: There are so many good ones! I am obsessed with The Lord Of The Rings triology. I also love Rain Main, Step Mom and Remember The Titans.
Where are you From? I am from Nashville, TN!
ODT: Tell us about the moment you decided to move To LA; how did it make you feel?
SM: I always wanted to live in LA. When I was 12-years-old, I would look up pictures on the internet of Los Angeles. I would tell my Mom and Dad that LA was where I was going to live one day. They always laughed and said you don’t want to live there. What do you want to do in California? I told them I wanted to act, which was even more out of the ordinary for a little southern girl, but I knew in my heart LA was for me.
Upon viewing those images online - and feeling a great desire to be in this city - I worked relentlessly to try to get to LA. I wanted to move out to LA after high school, but my parents said no. I applied to college in LA in hopes to get there on an academic scholarship, but the reality was I didn’t the funds to afford a plane ticket out there, much less tuition! I went to college in Tennessee, and loved it...but could never stop thinking about LA. I knew I had to see it, just once, and then I would know if this crazy dream was just that - a dream - or something more.
My junior year of college, I saved all my money and bought a plane ticket to San Diego to visit my dear friend who was in college at San Diego State University. I stayed with her for a week, where she showed me all around her city and Southern California. I was in awe, mesmerized by the culture of the West Coast; so unlike the one I knew. People were so open-minded, accepting, and artistic. They were always outside and munching on foods I had never been exposed to (I really had never heard of quinoa or kale at this time), but the opportunities were explosive. Acting, writing, and hosting jobs were everywhere in LA. I never felt more at home. After that trip, I decided I was going to move to LA no matter what it took. After college, I moved home to save money and to build up a solid resume. I knew that the best went to LA, and I wanted to know everything I could about the entertainment industry before I was in a pool with the best. I wrote, directed, shot, edited and acted in a handful of short films in Nashville. I worked the Nashville Film Festival, joined film meet up groups and took acting classes.
One of the biggest eye opening moments for me was when I got to audition for a role in the TV show, Nashville. This ABC show coming to our city was a huge deal! Before this there were no major TV shows being shot in Nashville besides CMT segments. I got called back three times but the role eventually went to a girl from LA. My agent reminded me that production companies feel that the best actors are in LA, and tend to trust the talent pool out there more than the south. I moved to LA in 2014 with $3,000 dollars in my bank (oh my gosh not enough at all!) and a lot of prayers. I was so excited to be in LA! My Dad and I drove cross country together where he dropped me off and said good-bye and good luck.
Why have you pursued a career in the film industry / How did you get into the film industry?
SM: My initial love for film began with storytelling. As a child, I was constantly writing in my journal and performing stories for my family. I always felt an internal longing to tell stories with meaning and make people laugh. I got my start in film with a traveling improv troupe in high school, but my great desire to pursue a career in film began after college.
After college, before I moved to LA, I was a photojournalist in third world countries. I traveled to Haiti, Ecuador and Nepal documenting the plight of poverty. I blogged, took photographs and helped share peoples stories for various non-profits. Each time I was abroad, I was reminded of the power of film. In ever country, the first thing children wanted to know was if I knew Brad Pitt or any Hollywood stars. Children who ate one meal a day, watched Hollywood films on boot leg and found hope, comfort and inspiration in movies created here. This is when I learned the power in the entertainment industry surpasses anything else. I always wanted to work in entertainment, but often felt guilty as if this desire to act was silly and egotistical. After traveling abroad, I learned actors are some of the most influential people in the world, and if I was able to do what I love (act) I could have an even greater voice to raise awareness for children in poverty overseas.
ODT: Any particularly memorable moments on your journey?
SM: One of the most memorable moments for me was being in the Fall Out Boy music video, “Uma.” I met a girl working a random event gig who submitted me for the lead role for the video. When she called me and said that Fall Out Boy had chosen me, I was speechless
This is when I realized the truth behind the phrase “it’s all about who you know.” The music video went on to win Music Video of the Year at the VMAS in 2016. I remember watching the award show with my friends in our little apartment and thinking wow...I really did that. It was very surreal for me to be apart of something with so much exposure and even more so, comical that friends and family asked what my next job would be. I was like ummm, I’m still waiting tables? This experience taught me that anything is possible, that hard work doesn’t go unnoticed, and to never give up your side job, just in case :).
ODT: What do you love most about the film industry?
SM: What I love most about the film industry is how much of a community it is. Working in the film industry is like working with a family. It takes years of individual work to get to where you want to be, but in the end, it’s worth it. The most beautiful thing is when a group of vastly different people come together to create something to inspire change or provide humor for an audience.
ODT: Totally agree. What have been some of the more challenging moments about being a woman in the film industry?
SM: One of the most challenging things about being a woman in the entertainment industry is getting people to take you seriously. There are endless people that come to Hollywood in the hopes of becoming famous, and it’s hard for people in prominent roles in the industry to know who to take seriously. I feel like I am always constantly having to prove to others; I have a strong desire to make good content and my motives far surpass money and fame. I also feel like there is a stereotype that a woman will sleep their way to their desired job in the industry. I feel like this stigma is perpetually one I am trying to knock down as well.
ODT: What motivates you? What dreams are you fighting for?
SM: My mother motivates me. My mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder two years ago. Seeing the woman I love depressed to deathly extremes is one of the most heart wrenching things I have ever experienced. Yet seeing how her eyes light up when watching a thought-provoking film or a humorous sitcom gives me the internal strength to hope that one day I could be an actor bringing hope to the hopeless, too. Children in developing countries also motivate me. After spending time abroad, I feel an internal obligation to help and inspire them.
ODT: Tell us about a passion project of yours, or a moment when you created your own opportunity in LA.
SM: My passion project is my personal memoir titled: My Bipolar Mom: Sometimes The Way Somebody Loves You Isn’t What You Want, But It’s The Best Way They Know How. I wrote this book four years ago before I moved to LA. It’s a humorous and moving story about my journey with my mentally ill mother from childhood to adulthood. I feel very passionate about this story, as I know this is more than my story. It’s for every person whoever had a loved one with a mental illness and didn’t know about it. One in five people have a mental illness, and I feel this book is vital to help other women trying to understand the battles within mental illness.
I wrote this book with aspirations to turn it into a film where I play the lead role. I have shared exerts of my book at storytelling rounds, have been published in Time Of The Month: Funny Female Storytelling by Melanie Vare, and am currently pursuing stand-up comedy to raise awareness for the book and to develop a one-woman show for this story of humor and pain.
